Nickbbu From Romania, joined Jan 2007, 185 posts, RR: 5 Posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 1 day ago) and read 27930 times:
North American Summer 2008 (550 pics !)
Hello to you all aviation enthusiasts. I have finally finished this huge trip report, which took me a lot of time, to edit all the pictures, upload them, import all the links and writing the comments. I worked for weeks and this is the result.
Why “North American”? The trip reports covers all 3 countries, USA, Canada and Mexico (but the flights were all in the USA only), and both coasts, east and west.
The route was: Bucharest - Munchen - New York - Montreal - Quebec Ville - Toronto - Niagara Falls - Buffalo - Atlanta - San Francisco - Las Vegas - Los Angeles - Tijuana - Los Angeles - Charlotte - Ft Lauderdale - Miami - Ft Lauderdale - Boston - New York - Munchen - Bucharest.
The trip reports statistics:
-flights: 12
-distance: 27.700 km / 17.300 mi (only by air)
-flying time: 35.5 hours
-airlines: 4
-aircraft types: 6
-airports: 12
I will try to make it as short as possible, but then again there are more than 500 pictures which need comments, so bare with me.
In the trip report I will say “we” or “our” since the whole trip was completed with my girlfriend. USA will always remain a special country for both of us, as we first met there in 2006. We didn’t meet in Bucharest, the city where we both live, we had to cross the ocean to meet each other.
OTP (Bucharest Henri Coanda / Otopeni) - MUC (Munchen Franz Josef Strauss)
15 June 2008, Sunday Lufthansa - LH3425
Airbus A320-200 / D-AIPL (first flight: 8 Dec 1989)
Scheduled: 7:15 AM - 8:15 AM (2hr)
Actual: 7:22 AM - 8:06 AM (1hr 44m)
Seat: 25B
Load factor: 85 %
We had to wake up very early for the morning flight to Munchen, which would be our first flight on Lufthansa. At check-in we asked the agent for the seats to MUC, since our seats for the flight over the Atlantic were assigned well before the trip.
Taking-off on runway 08R
Banking left to make our way towards west
Rising above the layer of clouds
Clear skies
Cabin view
In-flight service, just a sandwich and later some drinks
We slept for a while, so nothing special to mention about the flight.
Somewhere over Bavaria
Lots of lakes in that area
Erding air base, just before landing in MUC
Landing on runway 26L
ATC tower
Lufthansa / A320 - also heading to the gates
Star Alliance all over
We parked not far from this United / B777-200
After deboarding we had more than 3 hours of waiting so we went everywhere inside the terminal, which is obviously pure German, meaning well organized and very clean.
Covered area between the two terminals
Everywhere there were signs reminding us that the EURO 2008 has just begun (for those who don’t know, the European Soccer Championship).
Being very cold for that time of the year (don’t let the sun light fool you), we went back inside the terminal to go spotting at the observation terrace.
Nobody there at that time, probably because it was so cold
Lufthansa / A340-600 / D-AIHP - the plane which would take us to New York
Korean Air Cargo / B747-400
Qatar Airways / A330
Lufthansa / A340-600
Qatar Airways / A330
It wasn’t so much activity around the airport and the variety of planes was quite limited.
MUC (Munchen Franz Josef Strauss) - JFK (New York J. F. Kennedy)
15 June 2008, Sunday Lufthansa - LH0410
Airbus A340-600 / D-AIHP (first flight: 8 Nov 2006)
Scheduled: 11:25 AM - 2:45 PM (9hr 20m)
Actual: 12:00 PM - 1:44 AM (7hr 44m)
Seat: 49H
Load factor: 100 %
We had to go through yet another security check, which is a standard for all USA inbound flights from MUC, and then we waited for the boarding to begin.
Our plane was getting ready for the flight.
Nose view
When we boarded we were greeted by 2 very nice flight attendants. It was for the first time I saw an Airbus A340-600 interior, which looked very new and clean.
Window view
We took off on runway 26R.
Freising, just north from the airport
Great view as we leave behind the airport
Emirates / B777-300 was flying fast above us
After reaching the flight cruise, I took some time to observe the cabin.
Front section of the economy class
The entrance for the lavatory, located under the cabin
Going downstairs
The narrow door, near the stairs, is for the cabin crew rest area
Somewhere above Netherlands
Near Amsterdam, can someone help me identify the area exactly? I tried dozens of times on G. Earth, but no luck.
Overpassing the Dutch North Sea coastline
Still no action inside the plane. I was quite hungry at that time…
Flying over Manchester
Blackpool
Blackpool airport
Lots of clouds over Irish Sea and Ireland. The sky cleared off over the west coast of Ireland.
It doesn’t seem like Ireland, you might think you are somewhere over the Mediterranean Sea. Still no sign of in-flight service.
Finally, the food is being served.
I chose pasta and my girlfriend had chicken, in case one meal is bad we could both eat the good one. Both were good but we shared anyway. Another plus for Lufthansa, the cutlery was real, no plastic.
I have to admit I love airline food. I know it’s small, it’s not that tasty, but knowing that it’s served at high altitude improves my overall image on it.
Many clouds over the Atlantic
We slept for a while and watched some movies. Soon we were approaching Canada.
Over Newfoundland Island
We were served a pre-arrival snack. I had a kind of German hot-dog, my girlfriend had a kind of veggie pizza, which weren’t that good. At least the boxes looked nice.
We soon began descending, while overflying Boston.
Long Island
We landed at JFK on 22R
Virgin Atlantic / A340-600
Delta aircrafts at terminal 2
We parked next to Air France / A330 and Lufthansa / B747-400
I visited New York many times and I can call it my American “home city”. I feel there as I am home, everything looks very familiar to me. If I’m in California and I fly to New York, it feels like going back home, even though my home is naturally in Romania.
Times Square
NY Stock Exchange
New York City Hall
Brooklyn Bridge. It was very windy and the cold air, similar to that in Munchen, cut short our walk over the bridge half way.
Lower Manhattan skyscrapers
At the end of August it was time to head home…
I booked my tickets since July, in order to get the cheapest ones. When booking I also took into consideration the luggage fees, as we had both done a lot of shopping so we had 2 large suitcases and 2 duffle bags. While on the road, we managed to squeeze down to only 3 bags, in order to pay less for the second luggage.
Our trip home would take about 3 weeks of nonstop travelling around the USA, Canada and Mexico.
First we went to Montreal, where we spent a few days. I also tried to do some shopping, but somehow I wasn’t that lucky finding what I wanted. Also the prices were considerably higher then in the USA.
Olympic Stadium, where the 1976 Olympic Games took place
Downtown Montreal, as seen from the Olympic Stadium tower
St. Lawrence River (Saint Laurent in French, this is Quebec)
Olympic Village
Montreal Casino
Notre Dame de Montreal
Sainte-Catherine Street, the city main street
Cathedral in downtown
Olympic Stadium seen from Mont Royal
While on Mont Royal, you could see lots of planes flying low over Montreal.
Air Algerie / A330
Downtown view
Zooming in towards the aiport, you could actually see the planes landing and taking off
Olympic Stadium at night
Downtown, with lots of lights. Great panorama.
While in Montreal, I wanted to go spotting at the Trudeau Airport (former Dorval). Unfortunately I couldn’t find a decent a decent place to take good pictures of the aircrafts.
Terminal building
Air Canada ad, with many landmarks which I would visit during this trip
Air Canada tails
Don’t you just love the color scheme?
Air Canada / B777-300 seen very far away, landing on runway 06L; the heat waves made the picture blurry.
Olympic Airlines / A340-300 / SX-DFB (I checked the ACARS log)
Lots of contrails
We also went for a one day visit to Quebec Ville, which is absolutely gorgeous, with a lot of European influence. The streets were narrow and resembled those from France or Benelux countries.
Chateau Frontenac
Saint Laurent
Toronto followed, but the weather was awful. You couldn’t even see the CN Tower top due to the low clouds.
Toronto City Hall
Finally the weather got better a few hours latter, so the CN Tower was clearly visible
While on a ferry trip back from the Toronto Islands, a Porter Airlines / Dash 8-Q402 was landing at City Center Airport.
Toronto City Center Airport view from the CN Tower
Sky Pod, my favorite place in the tower
The view wasn’t quite the best
Downtown skyscrapers
Night view
Originally we planned to get an Air Canada flight from Toronto to San Francisco, but meanwhile the price got higher so we found another cheaper way, with Delta, from Buffalo. So why not see Niagara Falls once more, after 3 years…
Niagara Falls
A nice rainbow
Skylon Tower
The Horseshoe Falls
The American side
Toronto skyline was still visible, from a distance of about 40 miles (65 km) over Lake Ontario
Nickbbu From Romania, joined Jan 2007, 185 posts, RR: 5 Reply 1, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 1 day ago) and read 28096 times:
From Niagara Falls we took a Greyhound bus to Buffalo airport, getting there around midnight. We spent the night in the airport, considering the early departure of our flight.
BUF (Buffalo Niagara International) - ATL (Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson)
31 August 2008, Sunday Delta Air Lines - DL1585
MD-88 / N971DL (first flight: 25 Jan 1991)
Scheduled: 6:00 AM - 8:04 AM (2hr 4m)
Actual: 6:11 AM - 7:46 AM (1hr 35m)
Seat: 15B
Load factor: 90 %
After a rough night, with a few hours of sleeping on the terminal seats (luckily there were no armrests), we were more than eager to board the plane, to have a place where to sit and sleep.
BUF terminal
Our flight was on time
I can’t remember that much from that morning, we were so tired… We were anxious to fly after more than 2 months, but I guess we were more anxious to sleep during flight.
We took off on runway 23, banking left for our southern route
Soon after take off, the cabin crew began the in-flight service, which consisted of a drink (we both chose tea), a biscuit and peanut butter crackers. I particularly liked the napkins.
After the in-flight service we just slept all the way until our destination.
Descending towards Atlanta
Seconds before touching down on runway 08L
Delta planes, lots and lots of them
ATC tower
Our ride to Atlanta
After deboarding we took the air train to other terminals, but everywhere you looked there were mostly Delta planes, so the scenery was similar. Anyway the airport was huge and well maintained.
ATL (Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson) - SFO (San Francisco International)
31 August 2008, Sunday Delta Air Lines - DL1067
Boeing 767-300 / N140LL (first flight: 2 Jun 1993)
Scheduled: 9:29 AM - 11:33 AM (5hr 4m)
Actual: 9:49 AM - 11:18 AM (4hr 29m)
Seat: 43F
Load factor: 90 %
The cleaning crew was doing a good job
Delta and SkyTeam logos on the wall
Our plane
We boarded and, expecting to see a worn interior, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the seats had PTVs. I like so much the B767-300 interior, due to its spacious feeling. Also the seat pitch was very generous, so thumbs up for Delta!
When passengers were still boarding, something strange happened in the back of the airplane, just a few seats behind us. A passenger had a kind of seizure, I couldn’t see much as everybody was standing up. Soon medics came inside to help him out, but he was in pretty bad situation so he was unable to stay on that flight. A small delay occurred, due to the passengers’ luggage, which had to be removed from the cargo hall.
Everybody calmed down and waited for departure
Lots of Delta tails, while pushing back
We waited in line, but our turn for take off came soon. Behind us there were many CRJ planes.
Runway 08R
During take off run
Airborne
After take off we banked north so we flew over Atlanta.
Dobbins air force base
Route to San Francisco
Over Memphis - Tennessee and mighty Mississippi River
Downtown Memphis
When the in-flight service came, I also bought a sandwich
Somewhere over Oklahoma plains
Approaching the Rocky Mountains, the scenery began to change
Over Utah
Colorado River created a very interesting landscape
Narrow and deep valley
Over Nevada
Mono Lake, California
Lakes
California Central Valley
San Mateo - Hayward Bridge in the bay area
Before touching down on runway 28R
United Airlines / B747-400
This is United country
ATC tower
It was our first time in San Francisco, which is a very nice city to wander around, but you have to be fit in order to walk up and down, up and down, on the city streets. We walked each day maybe 7-10 miles, no exaggeration, believe me. Still, there are some areas near downtown where you shouldn’t walk after sunset.
Golden Gate Bridge
Again Golden Gate Bridge, from the opposite side
Downtown San Francisco
Oakland Bay Bridge
Alcatraz Island and Prison
City view from Alcatraz
Transamerica Pyramid
Lombard Street
Steep, very steep. Notice the stairs on the left side of the street. I wonder how bad it’s during winter time…
Cable car ride, which is OK but it’s for tourists. You cannot compare the ride with the thrill you get on tram 28 from Lisbon, Portugal.
Alamo Square. It looks good? Well, only those houses with the view behind them. Otherwise, there is nothing special about this square.
SFO (San Francisco International) - LAS (Las Vegas McCarran)
3 September 2008, Wednesday Southwest - WN0528
Boeing 737-700 / N436WN (first flight: 13 Jun 2003)
Scheduled: 12:10 PM - 1:40 PM (1hr 30m)
Actual: 12:27 PM - 1:33 AM (1hr 6m)
Seat: 20E
Load factor: 70 %
It was time to leave San Francisco for Las Vegas. Before checking in we took several rides on the air train to see the airport activity.
Nice architecture
SFO air train
United / B777-200
United / B747-400
Virgin America / A319
Virgin America / A319
US Airways / A320
Alaska Airlines / B737-800
Parallel landings
ANA / B777-300
United / B757-200
Frontier / A319
We then checked in and went inside the terminal to take some more pictures.
Our flight was on time.
Alaska Airlines / B737-800
Southwest / B737-700
Continental / B737-800
US Airways / B737-300
Virgin America / A319 and Nothwest / A330
Alaska Airlines / B737-400 - Disney scheme
Our ride to Vegas
After boarding we were greeted by the funniest cabin crew I ever saw on a flight and then we occupied some seats in the back.
While inside the plane, I took some more pictures.
United / B777-200
American Airlines / B767-200
Cathay Pacific / B747-400
United / B777-200
Belair (Air Berlin) / B767-300 / HB-ISE - at that time I was very puzzled by the presence of Air Berlin in SFO.
Air France / B747-400
Aer Lingus / A330
Virgin America / A320
Midwest / B717
Cabin view
Take off on runway 01L
View of runways 28R/L
Downtown San Francisco (blurry shot because of the engine exhaust)
Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco Beach
Leaving the Pacific behind
Somewhere over the area between Santa Clara and San Jose
Over San Jose
San Luis Reservoir near Pacheco Pass
Some snow was present down there
The in-flight service consisted of a drink and peanuts.
We began to descend towards Las Vegas, leaving the snowy mountain tops behind us.
Our route before landing was simply astonishing, taking us right over Las Vegas Strip. The pictures speak by themselves. We made a big turn, coming from north-west, continuing south over the airport, then going west and turning east to align with the runway.
Las Vegas Strip
Notice Lake Mead, further away on the horizon
Final approach
Landing soft on runway 07R
Southwest planes
ATC tower
Our ride
Las Vegas, considered by many just a copy of landmarks around the world, is still unique and you simply cannot get bored while being here. It’s a playground for grownups, where you can have lots and lots of fun.
“Welcome to Fabulous Las Vegas - Nevada” sign, by day…
…and by night
Bellagio show seen from Eiffel Tower
The show, on the ground
Views of the Strip
Fremont Street experience, in downtown Las Vegas
Downtown and north Las Vegas, from the Stratosphere Tower
Nickbbu From Romania, joined Jan 2007, 185 posts, RR: 5 Reply 2, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 28049 times:
LAS (Las Vegas McCarran) - LAX (Los Angeles International)
6 September 2008, Saturday Southwest - WN1143
Boeing 737-300 / N344SW (first flight: 2 Mar 1989)
Scheduled: 11:40 AM - 12:55 PM (1hr 15m)
Actual: 12:00 PM - 12:40 PM (40m)
Seat: 3E
Load factor: 25 %
It was time to head back to California, this time to Los Angeles. We arrived about 2 hours before the flight so there was no time to loose, we just grabbed something to eat and got through security.
Slot machines even in the airport!
Delta and Northwest planes
Our ride for LAX
This time we seated in the front
Southwest all over
Las Vegas casinos were quite close
TED / A320-200 landing and Alaska / B737-800 ready for take off
Continental / B737-800 landing and US Airways / B757-200 ready for take off
Air Canada / A319
Southwest / B737-300 with winglets
Delta / B737-800
Aviacsa / B737-300
Taking off on runway 07L
Looking back
Baseball grounds
Golf course
Highway towards Boulder City
Turning back towards west
Las Vegas from above, again
Over the desert
In-flight service, with peanuts
Big Bear Lake
San Barnardino Airport
California Speedway
Ontario Airport
LA is just huge
Downtown LA and Hollywood Hill
Skyscrapers
LA Memorial Coliseum
Final approach
The famous In-N-Out Burger restaurant
Landing on runway 24R
Qantas / B747-400 - many aussies in LA
Asiana / B747-400
Nothwest / B747-400
ATC rower and Encounter Restaurant, now undergoing repair works
Our ride
Before getting to baggage claim, we waited for a few minutes to see the aircrafts landing at LAX.
British Airways / B747-400
North… and South… west!
Southwest / B737-300
WestJet / B737-800
Air Tahiti Nui / A340-300 - I’d like to fly with him to Tahiti…
Malaysia Airlines / B747-400
Los Angeles, even though it was a disappointment for me 2 years ago, still has some nice places to hang around.
Hollywood sign
Walk of Fame
Kodak Theatre
Santa Monica and Venice Beach
Pacific Ocean at sunset, stunning.
Long Beach Harbor
Sea lions resting… Sometimes I wish I could take some time to rest, but no, I have to keep going on this long trip.
What do you think, it’s landing or taking off?
One day was dedicated to Mexico. We went to Tijuana by Greyhound bus, getting a glimpse of San Diego on the way.
Mexico border
The Mexicans seem quite proud and patriotic, as this flag was huge
An arch, St. Louis style, but smaller
Welcoming sign
We also took a shared taxi, very cheap but cramped way to get to Rosarito Resort, 20 kilometers south-west from Tijuana.
Rosarito Beach Hotel
Pier
Again, Mexican flag
Powerful waves at the Pacific
The season was off, that’s for sure
This is funny, a sign to show our way back to the USA. But it’s useful anyway.
Bye-bye sign
Quite busy to get back to the USA
San Ysidro, right on the border
LAX (Los Angeles International) - CLT (Charlotte Douglas)
9 September 2008, Tuesday US Airways - US1498
Airbus A321-100 / N180US (first flight: 5 Jun 2001)
Scheduled: 10:35 PM - 6:04 AM (4hr 29m)
Actual: 11:13 PM - 6:07 AM (3hr 54m)
Seat: 11E
Load factor: 95 %
Time to leave the west coast came, so Florida was next. I usually prefer flying during the day, but this time I chose a night flight because I didn’t want to loose almost a whole day flying from west coast to east coast, considering the 4-5 hour flight time and the 3 hour time difference. The only major disadvantages were the tiredness and the lack of pictures during flight.
But it would be our first flight on US Airways, first flight on A321 and also the first visit to North Carolina, even though for such a short time.
Terminal 1
On time
Air New Zealand / B767-300
Our ride
Cabin view. The lights were off for the whole flight.
We took off on runway 25R and made a 180 degrees turn over the Pacific, before heading east.
There is nothing special to mention about the flight. There was no in-flight service and we slept most of the flight. I would have gladly wanted to get to our destination later, to get more sleep. But we arrived in Charlotte in less than 4 hours, not enough time to get a decent sleep. We landed in CLT on runway 18R.
Our A321, after arriving in Charlotte - North Carolina
Different angle of A321
A321, this time with nose
CLT (Charlotte Douglas) - FLL (Fort Lauderdale Hollywood)
10 September 2008, Wednesday US Airways - US0989
Boeing 737-400 / N456UW (first flight: 24 Jan 1991)
Scheduled: 8:00 AM - 10:01 AM (2hr 1m)
Actual: 8:06 AM - 9:38 AM (1hr 32m)
Seat: 5B and 4F
Load factor: 20 %
We bought some coffee but it wasn’t enough, we were still sleepy.
The terminal
Another flight on time
US Airways / A321
US Airways Express / ERJ-175
US Airways / A321 - the plane which brought us from LAX
Our ride to Ft Lauderdale
Boarding was announced and soon everybody was inside, on this rather empty flight to Florida.
Window view
We pushed back and headed towards runway 18L.
Aviation Museum
While taking off, downtown Charlotte came into view
Getting higher and higher
Business class view
Reaching the Atlantic, near Savannah - Georgia, the landscape got truly beautiful. The scenery was so wonderful, I completely forgot how sleepy I was.
Then I switched seats on the right side of the plane, to see the Florida coastline.
Jacksonville Beach
St Augustine Airport
Florida was covered with clouds, as the Hurricane Ike just went close by a few days earlier
It’s not Cape Canaveral launch platform, there are just 5 baseball grounds
The Everglades swamp
Count the swimming pools… How many?
Final approach
I-95 highway
Landing in FLL on runway 09L
Zoom Airlines / B767-300 - interesting visitor to FLL
jetBlue / ERJ-190
AirTran / B-717
Deboarding was quick and we made our way to Miami Beach, not before taking a picture of this US Airways / B757-200 - Star Alliance logojet.
For me it was the second time in Miami Beach, the first for my girlfriend. We spent there only 2 days, one cloudy but the second one very sunny, getting a sun tan like never before. While at the beach I’m like a duck, I usually stay only in the water, swimming and fooling around, so it was quite weird to get such a strong sun tan in only one day.
Loews Hotel
Palm trees near Ocean Drive
The Atlantic Ocean and the beach, which was covered with sea weed, because of the hurricane
I originally wanted to get a cheap flight from FLL to New York, so when I checked Delta website I discovered there were 2 options similar in price, one going directly from FLL to JFK and one with a stopover in Boston. The second one was more interesting as the BOS-JFK sector was operated with a CRJ-900, which was missing from my log. I booked the tickets on the spot (in July).
We left the Miami Beach hotel very early in the morning for our lengthy trip to the airport and we checked in 2 hours before the flight. Waiting in the terminal, my girlfriend surfed the web (FLL has free wireless Internet) while I was going around to take pictures of the airport activity.
The gate
Downtown Ft Lauderdale
jetBlue / A320
US Airways / A319
Capital Cargo International / B727 - Florida and the Caribbean Area still have some flying “dinosaurs”
Speaking of “dinosaurs”… DHL / DC-8
US Airways / B757-200
American Airlines / B757-200
Delta / B757-200
Our ride to Boston
Boarding began, we pushed back and we were on our way to taking off.
Allegiant Air / MD-83 and Delta / MD-88
Spirit Airlines / A319
American Airlines / MD-82 - shining in the bright sun
Taking off on runway 09L
Port Everglades
Ft Lauderdale Beach
Notice the ocean water color… I wonder what’s the reason.
Wing view
Cabin view
In-flight service, a drink and the same good peanut butter crackers
Our flight path took us not far from Grand Bahama Island, and then straight north. We saw firm ground around Southport - North Carolina, just south of Wilmington.
Holden Beach
Kingston Jetport - North Carolina
Many tiny clouds
James River Bridge neat Hampton - Virginia
Then we encountered some high altitude clouds so there was no visibility towards the ground. We saw ground again when descending towards Boston.
The Graves light
Winthrop - Massachusetts
Landing on runway 27
Downtown Boston. 2 years ago I was on the observation deck in the Prudential Building looking at the airport, now it’s the other way around.
FedEx / A300
Our plane at the gate
ATC tower
We quickly went to Boston, since our next flight would leave at 5:20 PM, so it was enough time for a short stroll around downtown.
Beacon Hill State House
Park Street Church
Historical street on the Beacon Hill
Frog Pond
John Hancock Tower and Prudential Tower
BOS (Boston Logan) - LGA (New York La Guardia)
12 September 2008, Friday Delta Air Lines - DL1935
MD-88 / N908DE (first flight: 1 Oct 1992)
Scheduled: 8:30 PM - 9:39 PM (1hr 9m)
Actual: 9:24 PM - 10:06 PM (42m)
Seat: 16D
Load factor: 20 %
We went back to the airport, where we’re in for a surprise. Our flight to JFK was delayed, due to weather conditions in the New England Region, especially in New York. We went to Delta agents and a very nice lady told us what happened, that most of the passengers from our flight to JFK were contacted and rerouted to New York La Guardia Airport. And, since we couldn’t be announced (having no cell phones), along with other 3 passengers, we could try our chances and wait the flight, which was due to leave around 8 PM, or choose to go to La Guardia.
I know JFK very well so even though it takes longer to get to Manhattan, I prefer it since I know my way around. But I never went to La Guardia so I had no idea how to get to Manhattan at a reasonable price. So we decided to wait.
We went through security and got to the gate of our flight to JFK.
Nice looking CRJ-900
We talked to the cabin crew and also with the pilots and we’ve been told that the slots are very limited at JFK, especially now with the awful weather. So we finally decided to fly to La Guardia. We were issued new boarding passes and we sadly had to leave to another gate. By the way, the CRJ-900 flight to JFK was cancelled.
It was also a MD-88, so nothing special about that… This MD-88 wasn’t our ride, it was later replaced at the gate by another aircraft, the same MD-88. I took no pictures of that one, as everything happened fast.
After boarding, we were told by the pilots that even this flight is questionable and there are no guaranties that we’d leave to New York. We simply had to wait inside while waiting for news.
Meanwhile Delta crew handed everyone a snack bag. Can anyone confirm that this snack is standard or it happened just because of the delay? Anyway, as I am a fan of airline food, the snack brought me some happiness, since the afternoon was so awful. By that time we should have already been in New York, not stuck on a plane in Boston…
Finally the captain gave us good news, that we could fly to New York. A few minutes later we took of on runway 22R, having a bumpy ride all the way to La Guardia.
Blurry shot while taking off
We landed in LGA on runway 22 and we found a bus, which was one hell of a ride to Manhattan, full of people on a Friday evening, having also so much luggage. But at least we were “back home” in New York…
Brooklyn Bridge and lower Manhattan
Manhattan Bridge. Take a closer look…
… yes, it’s Empire State Building
Empire State Building
View from the top
Central Manhattan and somewhere over there it’s Central Park
Chrysler Building
Lower Manhattan
Grand Central Station
Times Square, looking south
Times Square, looking north
Central Park
Bathesda Fountain
Bathesda Terrace
Colombus Circle
JFK (New York J. F. Kennedy) - MUC (Munchen Franz Josef Strauss)
14 September 2008, Sunday Lufthansa - LH0411
Airbus A340-600 / D-AIHR (first flight: 30 Jan 2007)
Scheduled: 5:40 PM - 8:10 AM (8hr 30m)
Actual: 6:35 PM - 8:06 AM (7hr 31m)
Seat: 50C
Load factor: 100 %
We arrived at the airport more than 3 hours before the departure, having plenty of time to go spotting at the other terminals.
ATC tower
View from the air train
Terminal 6, jetBlue Airways home
jetBlue / A320
Cathay Pacific / B777-300 - “Asia’s world city”
United / B777-200 and Air Jamaica / A320
Terminal 7, British Airways home
British Airways / B767-300
3 British Airways planes: B767-300 / B757-200 / B747-400 and 1 US Airways / A319
Uzbekistan Airways / B767-300
Terminal 5, former TWA flight center, new jetBlue Airways terminal
Singapore Airlines / B747-400
Air India / B777-200
Inside terminal 4
Knowing that the Emirates / Airbus A380 would be at JFK, at terminal 4, I tried to find a place which offered the best visibility over the plane. Well, there wasn’t any, at least not from the airport. Only after you would go through security you could have a better view of this giant. I was very disappointed, it was almost like they tried to hide it.
Emirates / A380 tail
Emirates / A380 engine
Then we went inside terminal 1, which had very little options to buy food and duty free products. As we got through security, we had the “special security check”. Probably the check in agent found it strange when we specifically asked some seats in the back for our flight from Munchen to Bucharest (the seats for New York - Munchen were assigned since June) and stamped our boarding passes consequently.
Air France / A330
Olympic Airlines / A340-300 / SX-DFA
Austrian Airlines / B767-300 - Star Alliance logojet
Air France / B777-300
Lufthansa / A330 - bound for Frankfurt
Turkish Airlines / A330
Alitalia / B767-300
Boarding was announced and we were soon inside the plane.
We pushed back and we had to wait for a long time to make our way through the usual evening rush hour at JFK. We headed towards runway 13R.
Alitalia / B777-200 and Virgin America / A320
Delta country
Atlas Air / B747-400 - taking off
Cargolux / B747-400 - take off run
South African / A430-300 - take off run
Finally it came our turn for departure. When turning to align with the runway, the queue line behind us was so long…
During take off run
Emirates / A380 - all the doors were opened, can someone explain why?
Climbing
Long Beach - Long Island
Our route
Still climbing parallel with Fire Island
The night was close
Last glimpse of sunlight
A snack before dinner
Dinner was served. It looked the same with the service we had on the MUC-JFK flight. I chose pasta, which were good.
We watched some movies and, after passing over Newfoundland, we went to sleep.
We woke up before reaching Ireland.
The lights were off, but soon they were turned on for breakfast
Breakfast, which was looking more like a snack than a real breakfast. I definitely had better on British Airways and Air France.
Over Bristol
We then passed exactly over London, I easily recognized the lights of Tower Bridge but there was no chance to get a picture, it was too dark outside.
The first day lights
Over Belgium
Zeebrugge Port, north of Brugge
The islands from southern Netherlands were clearly visible
Passing over Brussels
Cabin view
Over Frankfurt Airport
Soon, we began to loose altitude.
Ground was close
Final approach
Landing on runway 08L
The weather in Munchen was terrible, very cold and cloudy.
Lufthansa baby brother
Observation terrace
Our ride from New York
The tail
MUC (Munchen Franz Josef Strauss) - OTP (Bucharest Henri Coanda / Otopeni)
15 September 2008, Monday Lufthansa - LH3422
Airbus A320-200 / D-AIPR (first flight: 26 Jun 1990)
Scheduled: 1:10 PM - 4:05 PM (1hr 55m)
Actual: 1:32 PM - 4:09 PM (1hr 37m)
Seat: 19B
Load factor: 85 %
We originally planned to take the train to the city, but since the weather was awful we changed our mind and stayed in the airport. I saw Munchen twice before, so no loss there. My girlfriend didn’t, but more luck next time.
ATC tower
Lufthansa logo
Lufthansa / A340-600
United / B767-300
United / B767-300
US Airways / A330
We went to our gate, but only after undergoing one more security check, even though we were still in the secure area. I mean it’s understandable for USA flights, but for a flight within Europe it’s a bit strange. At the security check they discovered in my backpack a deodorant which weighed more than 100 ml, so they told me it had to be removed. I obviously said OK but also added that I was coming from New York and nothing happened there. Anyway it was my mistake nevertheless, I’m always careful when it comes to packing, but this time it slipped me.
Window view
On our way to runway 08R, this Lufthansa / A340-600 was taking off on the same runway
Air France (Brit Air)/ CRJ-200
Taking off on our last flight from this trip
Nice view of the airport
After take off there was no visibility underneath
In-flight service, a sandwich, a drink and a small chocolate
Then we slept for the remaining of the flight.
Descending towards Bucharest
On final approach, we flew over the road to the airport
Nickbbu From Romania, joined Jan 2007, 185 posts, RR: 5 Reply 4, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 27962 times:
A Tarom / B737 was waiting for departure
Landing on runway 08R, in a wet and cold Bucharest
Tarom maintenance hangar
DHL / B757-200 - a regular visitor to Bucharest
Exiting the runway
Untitled / Antonov An-12 - strange visitor to OTP
Tarom / ATR 42-500
Tarom country
Adria Airways / CRJ-200 - from Ljubljana, operated with an aircraft from Air Nostrum
ATC tower, undergoing repair works
We parked next to this Tarom / A318
We then quickly passed customs and claimed our luggage. We were home after 3 months exactly, to the day. The overall experience was great, like never before.
Thank you all for reading and looking at so many pictures. Hopefully you didn’t get bored along the way.
I know I’ve been very short with many of the comments, but if I had described as I wanted to, this trip report would be maybe twice as big. And it’s already huge.
Please feel free to post your questions or comments.
STT757 From United States of America, joined Mar 2000, 12458 posts, RR: 54 Reply 5, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 23 hours ago) and read 27840 times:
Wow, seems like an episode of the "Amazing Race". You guys must have been exuasted, my first question would be of all the places you visited in North America which is your favorite. I take it it's New York?..
"'Brown Sugar' could save the world..." Eddie Vedder 10/14/97 Oakland, California
Nickbbu From Romania, joined Jan 2007, 185 posts, RR: 5 Reply 12, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 21 hours ago) and read 27396 times:
Quoting STT757 (Reply 5): Wow, seems like an episode of the "Amazing Race". You guys must have been exuasted
Hi STT757,
Thank you for your reply.
We sure felt like we were in a race... Everything was planned by the hour, to have enough time to see as much as possible.
I would’ve liked to take part in the “Amazing Race”, I watched it many times, so at least now I can say that had my taste of the race.
The most exhausting part was carrying the luggage to / from the airport, so many times.
Quoting STT757 (Reply 5): my first question would be of all the places you visited in North America which is your favorite. I take it it's New York?..
Hawaii. Does it count as North America?
Hard to tell, because the places are so different. I guess I prefer New England area, because the weather is the same as in Romania.
Quoting ExSR (Reply 6): Very good report with excellent photos. I really enjoyed reading. Thanks!
Hi ExSR,
Thank you for your reply.
Quoting InbarD (Reply 7): Excellent trip report. It was an awesome read. Thanks a lot for sharing!
Quoting B742 (Reply 8): Which City did you prefer?
Montreal.
Quoting B742 (Reply 8): Which of the three countries did you prefer; Canada, USA or Mexico?
Well, very hard to make a call.
But at least I felt very safe as a traveller in Canada, very much like in Europe. I can’t say that about the USA or Mexico.
Quoting Ms1664 (Reply 9): Very pleasant and enjoyable report ! Excellent work !
Hi Ms1664,
Thank you for your reply.
Quoting Ms1664 (Reply 9): Looks like Almere-Haven, NL to me.
DCAjet From United States of America, joined Aug 2004, 195 posts, RR: 0 Reply 15, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 21 hours ago) and read 27257 times:
Quoting Nickbbu (Thread starter): an anyone confirm that this snack is standard or it happened just because of the delay? Anyway, as I am a fan of airline food, the snack brought me some happiness, since the afternoon was so awful.
Indeed, the Delta Shuttle has an improved snack service over the run of the mill Delta flights. They also have free booze on board - beer and wine, only. In the morning it is usually a bagel with cream cheese and drinks, and then during the day what you got - cheese and crackers, some candy or sweets and fruit. The Shuttle is quite pricey, hence the catering.
Hi Eaa3,
Meaning the following months: December, January, February and even November or March.
I know the weather in San Francisco is not like in Alaska but it’s not like in Hawaii either.
Quoting DCAjet (Reply 15): Indeed, the Delta Shuttle has an improved snack service over the run of the mill Delta flights. They also have free booze on board - beer and wine, only. In the morning it is usually a bagel with cream cheese and drinks, and then during the day what you got - cheese and crackers, some candy or sweets and fruit. The Shuttle is quite pricey, hence the catering.
Quoting Nickbbu (Thread starter): I visited New York many times and I can call it my American %u201Chome city%u201D. I feel there as I am home, everything looks very familiar to me
NZ107 From New Zealand, joined Jul 2005, 2804 posts, RR: 23 Reply 20, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 18 hours ago) and read 26775 times:
Hi Nick,
That was stunning. So many pictures! Took me an age to look through them! A great tour of many places - thanks for that! It gave me a refresh of my memories of LA, SF, LV and Tijuana; yet to go anywhere else that you went to! I remember that queue back to USA (Dec 2001) with people selling treatments for "antrax" on the side of the road! I was glad to be back on US soil after that experience!
StarAlliance38 From United States of America, joined Jan 2008, 1244 posts, RR: 2 Reply 21, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 17 hours ago) and read 26731 times:
Wow. Excellent Trip Report! Very good! It kinda sad I wasn't able to se all the pics. I wish it was broken up into separate threads, but excellent job!
Glad that you also flew US! . Did you like CLT? CLT is my favorite airport.
My dad saw me reading it and he wants to know what camera did you use lol
This trip reminds me of every trip I've taken so far in my life . You seem to have hit a lot of the cities I've flown to: San Francisco. Fort Lauderdale. New York. Los Angeles. and a lot of other cities.
Great job!
Jeffrey1970 From United States of America, joined Apr 2001, 1243 posts, RR: 18 Reply 22, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 16 hours ago) and read 26634 times:
Quoting Nickbbu (Thread starter): Alamo Square. It looks good? Well, only those houses with the view behind them. Otherwise, there is nothing special about this square.
Those homes you saw in San Fransisco with the great view behind them were used in the opening scenes of a hit show from the 80's and 90's called Full House. You did a great job with your trip report. I hope you enjoyed the U.S of A.
Eaa3 From United States of America, joined Sep 2007, 384 posts, RR: 0 Reply 23, posted (1 year 1 month 1 week 13 hours ago) and read 26420 times:
Quoting Nickbbu (Reply 17):
Hi Eaa3,
Meaning the following months: December, January, February and even November or March.
I know the weather in San Francisco is not like in Alaska but it’s not like in Hawaii either.
Night frosts do happen and it snows a little every 30 years or so but winter is really a non-event. In those months it rains, something that doesn´t happen in summer, but it is not like there is ever really ice on the roads or all that slippery. It isn´t as hot as perhaps Hawaii but still by no means cold.
The beach in that picture is where I've taken many arrival photos! It's called Yirrell Beach, love going to it! There's a place just down the road from it called Belle Isle Seafood where you can get one of the best Lobster Rolls outside of Maine :: drool ::
"Someday the sun is going to shine down on me in some faraway place." - Mahalia Jackson
25 N83SF: Amazing trip report. Thanks for taking the time to write it. I have one question, and that is which of the aircraft you flew did you like the most and
26 Nickbbu: Hi Vojiv239, Thank you for your reply. Hi Mark, Thank you for reply. I know it takes a very long time to load all the pictures, but I don’t like to
27 Gjunnar: Thanks for the effort of putting this report together. Must have been hard work for sure. Photographs and writing is excellent. To me it felt like I w
28 BrusselsSouth: Hi Nick, What an amazing report ! Very nice itinerary, and the photos are so clear ! Thank you for taking the time to publish it, it took me more than
29 TurkishWings: Fantastic TR. One of the best I have read in this forum so far. It looks like you had a lot of fun and thank you very much for taking the time and sha
30 DAL763ER: Very interesting report, Nick!! You have some of the most interesting TR's I've read! Travel safe!!
31 Nickbbu: Hi Gjunnar, Thank you for your reply. I was very lucky. I still remember that before the flight I had my doubts regarding what side of the plane to c
32 LH4116: Very nice and detailed report! Though it isn't the longest report I've read on this forum. The longest report i have read was a pilot report by a.net
33 Nickbbu: Hi LH4116, Thank you for your reply. I know him. He’s a Romanian currently living in Canada and also a fellow member of our 1 year old community, R
34 FLIEGER67: Hi, Nick, wow, surely lots of work to put all these details together. But the result is simply great, good job, mate. I remember some places from my o
35 B747forever: What a amazing trip report. All the pics are fantastic! So do you think that you can make a connection at MUC in 40min? It looks so loooooooong. Wow,
36 Nickbbu: Hi Markus, Thanks a lot for the reply. Hi B747forever, Thank you for the reply. If it’s in the same terminal, sure. In not, it would be very tight.
37 OA260: Hey what a mega mega report !! First of all I must thank you for all the time and effort it took you. I know how long something like this would take .
38 Globetraveller: Wow. I have seen some very long trip reports on Airliners.net, but this pretty much blows all of the others out of the water. Great pictures and detai
39 AAce24: Fantastic report and pictures. It must have taken an extensive amount of time to write this report, but it is much appreciated. The 4+ minutes it took
40 Nickbbu: Hi Philip, thank you for yout words. They mean a lot to me coming from a mega - trip reporter. There is such a contest? What’s the prize? Looking f
41 QantasA333: First of all, great trip report, must have been exhausting. Can't wait to do that one day I counted 70+ swimming pools. Now thats alot!
42 Stylo777: amazing report, took my whole morning to get through all the great and good quality pictures as well as the report itself. especially your nightshots
43 Nickbbu: Hi QantasA333, Thanks for your reply. Out of how many houses? Funny... Hi Stylo777, Thank you for taking the time to look at it. I try to do my best.
44 FatmirJusufi: Amazing! Simply amazing. 550 pics... Great report!
45 Nickbbu: Thank you for your message. Cheers! Nick
46 SXDFC: This is awesome Nick! you not only had a great time but you got to fly on a plane that I have flown on too (N436WN) I truly wonder how many people in
47 Nickbbu: HI SXDFC, Thank you for the message. Well, the aviation links all of us someway. I like when I see that I’ve flown on the same plane which fellow a
48 Atlanta: I hope you have another great TR like this one! Nice TR! Atlanta
49 Buck3y3nut: one of the best trip reports i've read on A.net. So thorough and with plenty of pictures, both aviation related as well as the destinations you visite
50 Navymmw: Amazing trip report! I wish I can do something like that! I planning on a tour of Asia in 2010 visiting like 4-6 cities but it will be nothing like th
51 Nickbbu: Hi Atlanta, Thanks for the reply. I trully hope so too. Hi Buck3y3nut, Thank you for the message. Longer than you can imagine. Editing all the pictur
52 Vio: Hi Nick, I've said it before and I'll say it again! FANTASTIC TRIP REPORT! I really enjoyed it and thank you so much for putting so much effort into i
53 Nickbbu: Hi Vio, Thank you for appreciating. Sure I will. I went to Canada 3 times already but never on the Canadian West Coast, so it’s a must. So I guess
54 Richierich: Wow - now that's a TR! Tons of pictures, limited commentary... let the pictures speak for themselves! That looked like the trip of a lifetime... what
55 Nickbbu: Hi Richierich, Thank you for your comments. One of the best, that’s for sure. Nothing special. I’m lucky that she understands me, especially the
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